Municipality of West Nipissing's Tax Department operates within the Finance Services division and is responsible for the billing and collection of all interim, final, and supplementary property tax billings.

As well, the Tax Department administers a number of provincially mandated programs including the Commercial Vacancy Rebate and the Registered Charity Rebate programs.

The department also processes property tax adjustments resulting from Section 357 applications under the Municipal Act, assessment review board decisions, and requests for reconsideration under the authority of the Assessment Act.

The Corporate Services Department is responsible for the provision of internal services to the corporation. The department provides administrative services that support the work of the Municipal Council as well as management and staff of other departments in their delivery of efficient municipal services. The Corporate Services Department includes Finance, Human Resources, Information and Communications Technology. The Department leads the development and delivery of corporate-wide administrative policies, systems and services, and provides financial advice to other Departments and to members of Council.

The Municipality of West Nipissing currently offers three (3) rebate and relief programs for Municipalities.

Note: All applications must be submitted to the Treasurer of The Corporation at the Municipality of West Nipissing, Suite 101-225 Holditch Street, Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, P2B 1T1.

Vacancy Rebate Application

Section 364 of the Municipal Act, 2001 provides for rebates to vacant business units at the same percentage as discounts afforded to property owners of vacant and excess land. These percentages are 30% for commercial properties and 35% for industrial properties.

Property owners who are eligible for a rebate must submit an application to the municipality each year that a building, or portion of a building, is vacant. The deadline to submit an application for a tax year is February 28th of the following year.

To be eligible for a rebate, a building or portion of a building must satisfy the following:

Buildings that are entirely vacant - A whole commercial or industrial building will be eligible for a rebate if the entire building is vacant for at least 90 consecutive days.

Buildings that are partially vacant - A suite or unit within a commercial building will be eligible for a rebate if, for at least 90 consecutive days it was:

Unused; and clearly delineated or physically separated from the used portions of the building; and

Either 1) capable of being leased for immediate occupation; or 2) not capable of being leased for immediate occupation because it was undergoing or in need of repairs or renovation or was unfit for occupation.

A portion of an industrial building will be eligible for a rebate if, for at least 90 consecutive days, it was:

Unused; and

Clearly delineated of physically seperated from the used portions of the building.

Charitable Rebate Application

Under Section 361(1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, every municipality shall have a tax rebate program for eligible charities for the purpose of giving them relief from taxes on eligible property they occupy.

The program is applicable to registered charities that are tenants in a commercial or industrial class property. The landlord may be contacted by the charity to provide certain information that the Municipality of West Nipissing requires in order to process their application. Deadline for the current year is February 28th of the following year.

Registered charities must apply every year for the rebate by completing an application and returning to the Municipality of West Nipissing taxation department.

Section 319 of the Municipal Act, 2001, c.25, provides that every municipality shall pass a by-law for the purposes of relieving financial hardship by offering cancellation of,or other relief in respect of, tax increases on property on all or part of a tax increase for assessment related tax increases. This by-law applies to owners of residential property who are, or whose spouses or same-sex partners are low-income seniors or low-income persons with disabilities.

A low-income person with disabilities is defined under the Municipal Act, as a person who is in receipt of assistance paid under the Ontario Disability Support Program Act.

A low-income senior is defined as a person who is at least 65 years of age and who is in receipt of payments under the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), as established under Part II of the Old Age Security Act (Canada).

Tax relief is granted pursuant to the Tax assistance-Elderly and disabled By-Law shall be in form of a cancellation of the eligible amount, provided that:

such owner or the spouse of such owner occupies or occupy on a permanent basis, the property in respect of which the application for tax relief is made;

such owner or the spouse of such owner or both has or have been assessed as the owner of the residential real property in the municipality for a period of not less than one (1) year immediately preceding the date of the application for relief; and

the balance of the property tax (including any arrears of taxes) is paid in full.

Where a property is owned jointly or co-owned with persons other than the owner's spouse, both or all co-owners must qualify under the above mentioned eligibility criteria.

No tax relief granted pursuant to the Tax assistance-Elderly and disabled By-Law shall be allowed to an owner in respect of more than one (1) single residential family dwelling unit in any year.

The amount of tax cancellation shall be determined as follows:

If the total of taxes for municipal and school purposes for a qualifying property of an eligible person exceeds its total for the preceding year, the amount of the tax cancellation is the amount of the difference, provided that said difference exceeds $30.00. Increases above $30.00 will be cancelled to a maximum of $100.00.

The necessary adjustments in accordance with the Tax assistance-Elderly and disabled By-Law will only be applied to an eligible person's tax account after the 1st installment of the final tax bill is issued, which will reduce the amount owing for the 2nd installment billed.

Effective April 1, the Municipality will freeze any penalties and interest charges on overdue accounts. Non-payment of bills or past arrears will not be charged interest during this emergency. This will remain in effect until this crisis situation has passed. The Water and Sewer bill scheduled for May has been postponed to June.

Residents are encouraged to use alternatives for making payments such as paying online through their financial institution, at banking machines or by dropping a cheque into the drop-box located at the front of the Municipal Office.

The Municipal Office remains closed to all walk-in visits. In-person essential services will be conducted by appointment only. For appointments, residents may contact the Municipality by telephone at 705.753.2250. Residents are encouraged to direct non-urgent matters to
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The Municipality of West Nipissing, pusuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act cannot release tax information to the public without a formal request for a Tax Certificate. A written request must be submitted to our office along with a payment in the amount of $30.00 / parcel.

Once the information has been processed, we forward the certificate either by fax or by mail.

We ask that all requests be received a minimum of three (3) days before the required deadline to allow staff sufficient time to prepare the certificate.